Category: Bergdahl

Friend of the blog, Sig Christenson from the San Antonio newspaper is covering the hearing in the Bowe Bergdahl case this week which will determine if Bergdahl, 29, should go to trial for desertion. It’s a riveting story, really, for what it is. Sig’s a master at crafting good stuff out of boring courtrooms so read up on this.

The 33 soldiers with 2nd Platoon, Blackfoot Company were expecting to be relieved the following day. At one point before going on guard duty, he saw Bergdahl talking with another soldier. All appeared to be well.

When he realized Bergdahl was gone, a stunned Billings tried to type a message to company headquarters but was too rattled to compose it. Finally, he pressed the send button on his computer.

The entire saga of Bowe Bergdahl is just amazing. He’s accused of just walking off his base in Afghanistan and then being held by the Taliban for five years. The White House bargained for his release but in a weird twist (not from the facts but from that it’s odd to see people criticize politicians for doing what they can to get troops home), the troops were angry. They felt that it was wrong for the White House to do what they did given that they felt Bergdahl is a traitor. It’s been a hot button issue for many.

And members of his unit were out there looking for him for days.

While nobody was killed, one sergeant was hit by roadside bombs three times in a single day, and Silvino ordered him back to the company’s main base for rest, an order the sergeant grudgingly obeyed. If the soldier had been hit once more, Army policy required his redeployment home, Silvino said.

Wow, breaking news today with Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl being charged with desertion and misbehaving in front of the enemy. Yes, that’s a charge, apparently.He faces up to life in prison. From the Washington Post story:

Eugene Fidell, Bergdahl’s attorney, told The Washington Post that his client was handed a charge sheet on Wednesday. Army officials said in a statement that Bergdahl has been charged with desertion with intent to shirk important or hazardous duty and misbehavior before the enemy by endangering the safety of a command, unit or place. His case has been referred to an Article 32 preliminary hearing, which is frequently compared to a grand jury proceeding in civilian court.

The decision by the US Army comes about a year after he was released by insurgents in Afghanistan and nearly six years after he disappeared from his base in June 2009 while deployed to Afghanistan. At the time of his release, it was hailed by the White House as a sign of never leaving our troops behind. But those who served with him quickly cried foul and the matter became a growing brew-ha-ha as some soldiers repeatedly called Bergdahl a deserter.

Fellow soldiers have accused Bergdahl of deserting his unit at Combat Outpost Mest-Lalak in Paktika Province, and some have said that servicemembers died while searching for him.

Some quick facts as compiled by CNN. The cable news network goes on to report that some in the Senate, namely the part of the Elephant, are upset with the prisoner swap that freed Bergdahl.

“I wouldn’t have done this trade for a Medal of Honor winner,” he told CNN. “No military member should expect their country to turn over five Taliban commanders to get their release. Nobody should expect that. It’s not the nature of his service that drives my thinking it’s just the illogical nature of the swap”.

Stripes has a bit more on the charges which is can be found here or below.

Article 85 is “desertion with intent to shirk important or hazardous duty.” It carries a maximum potential punishment of a dishonorable discharge, reduction to the rank of private, total forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and five years in prison.

Article 99 is “misbehavior before the enemy by endangering the safety of a command, unit or place.” It carries a maximum potential penalty of dishonorable discharge, reduction to the rank of E-1, total forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and life in prison.

The Hill newspaper reports today the Army could have a decision “soon” or in the “near future” on whether Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was held hostage in Afghanistan for a number of years, is considered a deserter or not. From the story (and it’s short):

Army Secretary John McHugh said Wednesday that a decision on whether former prisoner of war Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl deserted his post in Afghanistan would be coming in the “near future.”

“I would think that we could reasonably expect to see something in the relatively near future,” McHugh told reporters at a briefing in Washington. “The range extends from on one end of the spectrum — from no further action to the other end of the spectrum, potential court-martial.”

Although the Army’s second fact-finding investigation of Bergdahl was concluded in December, McHugh said no decision has been reached on charges because of the number of documents that needed to be reviewed and the “complexity” of the case.

“It has been a lengthy investigation, and I think if you look at both the time involved from Sgt. Bergdahl’s disappearance to his recovery to this point in time in large measure, that’s understandable,” he said.

UPDATE: The Washington Post reports the DOD has made no decision regarding a possible desertion charge against Bergdahl. Could FOX news be wrong? From the Checkpoint blog and friend of the blog Dan Lamothe:

Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, and Maj. Gen. Ronald F. Lewis, the chief of Army public affairs, both denied that a decision has been reached by the Army. The case is currently under review by Gen. Mark A. Milley, the commanding general of U.S. Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg, N.C.

“Let me just put a fork in this right now, if I can,” Kirby told reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday. “No decision has been made with respect to the case of Sergeant Bergdahl. None. And General Milley is not being put under any pressure to make a decision, either way.”

BELOW IS THE ORIGINAL POST:

It’s been out there on social media as well as other web sites but to be clear — NONE of the major media outlets have reported it. Some smaller ones are saying Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will be charged with desertion for allegedly walking away from his post a few years ago while deployed to Afghanistan. And yes, a pundit did say it on the O’Reilly Factor but I was talking about real news sources, not people who pontificate about whatever they want and when they are wrong, say they were just pontificating. That said, I wanted to put it out there for people to discuss. Should he be charged with desertion? Did he do anything wrong or was he really taken by Taliban forces. The man was held captive for about five years in Afghanistan.

This is put out there for informational purposes and for a healthy debate. I have no independent knowledge on his status. Here’s the pertinent information from the story linked to above and what was said on FOX news.

On Monday’s broadcast of “The O’Reilly Factor” on the Fox News Channel, retired Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer of the London Center for Policy Research revealed to host Bill O’Reilly that sources tell him U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will face charges for desertion.

Bergdahl was held captive by the Taliban-aligned Haqqani network in Afghanistan from June 2009 until his release in May 2014, which was part of a prisoner exchange for five Taliban members who were being held at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay.

“Bill, the Army has come to its conclusion and Bowe Bergdahl,” Shaffer said, “Sgt. Bergdahl will be charged with desertion. I have been told and confirmed by two other sources that his attorney was given what we call a charge sheet. A charge sheet is results of the investigation listing out the articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice that have been violated. The key violation is desertion. And this is has been done. The decision has been made. Let me be very clear. As a corporate entity, the Army has decided that they want to pursue Bergdahl for this violation.”

The word out of Iraq is that ISIS or ISIL (according to AP Style) is now attacking Balad, and could seize some of the military hardware the United States left there. For those who don’t remember, Joint Base Balad was a massive sprawling facility that was the hub of air activities for much of our time in Iraq. And now, it appears that the radical Sunni group is knocking on the doorstep. Balad was home to LSA Anaconda which was a major base for US forces.

We left trucks, armored vehicles there. The Russians had helicopters there. The Iraqi AIr Force was to get F-16s delivered there. All and all, it’s not a good day for the Iraqi government which has been losing steadily to ISIS (ISIL) in the past few weeks.

The truth is that ISIS is only a few thousand fighters. What I think and others think too is that this is a rebellion, an insurgency whereby all the Sunni tribes have risen up and decided to throw out the Maliki regime. And of course, he’s doing nothing to help himself. There are stories out today that he is refusing to become more inclusive in his government, which was a major sticking point given he’s a Shiite and has largely excluded Kurds and Sunnis. Good for you, Mr. Maliki. Way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

In his weekly address to the nation, he described such efforts as a “rebellion” against the constitution. The United States is pressuring Iraq to create a more inclusive government, urging Maliki, a Shiite, to reach out to the country’s disaffected Sunni Muslim minority.

Good for you, Maliki. The Sunni insurgents are knocking at your door, Iran is helping your government, the pariah of the Middle East. The United States, the ones that gave you all that stuff, is asking to change. And you say forget about it. Good for you. Let me know how that’s working for ya.

yes, it’s far more complex than that. And yes, I realize that Sunni-Shia hostilities have gone on for generations but there has to be a better way for the Iraqi government to get through this. Already, we have seen problems elsewhere in the region involving Syria and Jordan. Is Lebanon next? Saudi? Israel? This could threaten to set off the entire region like a match on dry grass.

And Sgt. (please call Pfc.) Bowe Bergdahl has apparently finished up his debriefing in San Antonio where he is undergoing more treatment and has admitted no wrongdoing, Stars and Stripes reports.

“The focus of the reintegration briefing is on point of capture forward,” an Army officials said. “We have no reason to believe he has engaged in any misconduct. You don’t advise an individual of his or her rights until you believe they’ve engaged in criminal misconduct.”

Think as if the police are talking you and you aren’t a suspect. they don’t read your rights unless they think things have gotten to the point where you need them. Or legally, they have to. Bergdahl is being treated and the story states they aren’t talking about what he did before he got captured. But if he makes a statement, they aren’t going to pretend not to hear it.